Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Reduces Stock Position in Analog Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADI)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA decreased its stake in shares of Analog Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADI) by 4.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 11,524,256 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 540,228 shares during the quarter. Analog Devices makes up about 0.8% of Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Analog Devices were worth $2,448,443,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Analog Devices during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,755,958,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Analog Devices in the fourth quarter worth approximately $833,386,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Analog Devices by 22,005.0% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,073,252 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $652,943,000 after acquiring an additional 3,059,349 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Analog Devices by 14.9% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,176,877 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,169,689,000 after purchasing an additional 1,189,940 shares during the period. Finally, Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Analog Devices in the 4th quarter valued at $111,470,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.81% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Vivek Jain sold 12,684 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.00, for a total value of $2,663,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,066,750. This trade represents a 22.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Vincent Roche sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.12, for a total value of $2,091,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 64,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,575,652.16. This trade represents a 13.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 36,684 shares of company stock valued at $7,746,500 over the last quarter. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ADI. Benchmark raised their price objective on Analog Devices from $245.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Maxim Group started coverage on shares of Analog Devices in a research note on Friday, February 14th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Analog Devices in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Analog Devices from $250.00 to $210.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Analog Devices from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $255.41.

Analog Devices Price Performance

Shares of ADI opened at $199.18 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.93 and a quick ratio of 1.43. Analog Devices, Inc. has a 1-year low of $182.57 and a 1-year high of $247.10. The stock has a market cap of $98.79 billion, a PE ratio of 63.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $215.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $219.17.

Analog Devices (NASDAQ:ADI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The semiconductor company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $2.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.36 billion. Analog Devices had a return on equity of 8.91% and a net margin of 16.75%. The firm’s revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.73 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Analog Devices, Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current year.

Analog Devices declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 18th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the semiconductor company to purchase up to 9.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analog Devices Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were paid a dividend of $0.99 per share. This is an increase from Analog Devices’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $3.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.99%. Analog Devices’s dividend payout ratio is 126.11%.

Analog Devices Profile

Analog Devices, Inc designs, manufactures, tests, and markets integrated circuits (ICs), software, and subsystems products in the United States, rest of North and South America, Europe, Japan, China, and rest of Asia. The company provides data converter products, which translate real-world analog signals into digital data, as well as translates digital data into analog signals; power management and reference products for power conversion, driver monitoring, sequencing, and energy management applications in the automotive, communications, industrial, and consumer markets; and power ICs that include performance, integration, and software design simulation tools for accurate power supply designs.